Data service centers provide subscribers access to a variety of data services using a variety of protocols. In many cases, these services involve access to a centralized database that may be comprised of multiple storage resources. The database to which the subscribers seek access generally stores both static and dynamic content including text and graphic files, video and animation files, digital music, digital libraries, stock market and individual portfolio reports, financial statements and many other types of information. The protocols used to access the stored information include Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Network File System (NFS), Web-based NFS (WebNFS), Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) and Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocols.
A typical data service center must usually make its services simultaneously available to large numbers of subscribers using various combinations of these protocols. Further, for each subscriber, the center must provide security services that prevent other subscribers from getting unauthorized access to the subscribers' data. The data center must further provide accounting services in order to bill subscribers for the services provided and to allow traffic profiling.
All of these services must be provided in accordance with predefined quality of service commitments as contracted with the subscribers. Further, the services must be performed in a differentiated manner, with each subscriber receiving the type of service to which it has subscribed.
Prior-art data service systems have used separate procedures for handling each of these various requirements individually. Prior-art data services systems have only very limited support for a plurality of subscribers. They do not provide for separate quality of service and accounting metrics. They provide only weak separation of access. Thus, in practice, data center administrators would have to construct a physically separate data service system for each subscriber, which would lead to significant increased capital expense, maintenance and administrative cost.